Monthly Archives: February 2014

I’ve been in search of a shampoo that will clean my scalp and relieve itching, all while keeping my hair moisturized.

Background of scalp condition

Ever since I was in middle school, my scalp has occasionally itched severely, flaked severely, and become very sensitive. But over the past year, those symptoms seemed to happen much more frequently, and not go away. So I began using shampoos like T-Gel Medicated Shampoo and Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo to focus on the flaking and/or the itching. I gave both a break because T-Gel severely dried out my hair, and Trader Joe’s left my hair feeling really gummy.

I was diagnosed with a minor skin condition a couple of months ago, and my dermatologist recommended KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp Shampoo. She said it should relieve the itching without overly drying my hair (she’s team natural as well :)), so I gave it a shot.

KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp used to be my go-to shampoo and conditioner when I was relaxed, and for a little while during my transition. It has always relieved my itchy scalp, but as I transitioned to natural, I didn’t like how dry it left my hair. Grant it, I still had a lot to learn about taking care of my natural hair, and this is why I decided to give it another go.

KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp Shampoo Review

What I liked:

My scalp felt very clean after the wash session

My hair definitely did not feel as dry as when I used the T-Gel shampoo, and it did not feel gummy at all.

I’m a sucker for a good smelling product. I dreaded using T-Gel every week because of the smell.

The tingling wasn’t too overpowering. I love the tingle of Trader Joe’s shampoo (and I still use the conditioner), but sometimes it feels like my scalp and face are on fire!

What I disliked:

I admit that my hair was not as dry as when using T-Gel, but it still felt too dry for my liking. I tried to overcompensate with my product layering while my hair is drying (leave-in, oil, heavy cream), but may hair never seems to recoup from these harsh wash sessions until the next night when I layer product again.

The above complaint is my only true dislike. If I had to pick another, the texture is a little gummy. It’s one of those consistencies that you have to rub in your hands for a while before you apply to your hair, or else a glob of it will fall to the shower floor. Clearly not a deal breaker, but just something I noticed :).

Will I use again?

I plan to use again until I gather all the necessary ingredients (& time!) for my first clay wash. HeyNaturalBeauties turned me onto this, and it really sounds like something that will cleanse my sensitive scalp while keeping my hair moisturized. Those who have followed me for a while know that I have stayed away from making my own concoctions, but this sounds worth the time, effort, and risks :).

Two-strand twists Day 9 (didn’t stretch the night before). See the difference?

Two-strand twists Day 11

Two-strand twists Day 11

Twist out Day 1

Twist out Day 2

My hair has been in twists for the past 2 weeks. Part of me is like “you go girl, way to protective style!”, and the other part is like “Ugh, two weeks without detangling or washing AND you workout daily…good luck on wash day”.

Two-week twists are good because…

Low manipulation: I’m not combing or stressing my hair for two weeks. This is definitely good for my hair!

Convenient: This is a definite plus for my workouts since there is little to no styling time. I try to wear them down as long as they’re mildly stretched (just so I can moisturize nightly). To keep them stretched, I use a variation of a method I got from Naptural85 on YouTube where you stretch the twists across your head and secure them with pins or clips. I don’t do “twist by twist” as she does in her video only because I’ve usually installed so many, but grouping them together still gets the job done.When my twists start to get too frizzy to wear down, I simply pin them into an updo (I use this as my last resort because I prefer to be able to moisturize easily).

…but two-week twists are bad because…

Two weeks of no washing: Some ladies can go 2-3 weeks without washing and their hair still thrives. My scalp will not allow it. For me to keep a healthy scalp, it’s best that I wash at least once per week (or a week and a half at the most). Plus the twists were in 2 weeks, so I had to rock the bomb twist out after, right? This added 3-4 more days to my no-wash streak. My scalp was not happy.

Knotting and Loc’ing: For some reason, my twists are getting smaller and smaller, unintentionally :). This latest installment was my smallest yet, and I loved that even when I took them down, they still looked good. I also loved the volume that came with smaller twists. What I DIDN’T love were the knots resulting from leaving them in too long. I had some not-so-fun surprises waiting on me today during my wash session!

So going forward, I plan to install slightly larger twists (not too large of course – I’ll have to experiment). I will try to only leave them in for a week at the most. This should help battle the excess knotting since I won’t feel as much pressure to leave them in as long.

Journeys are about growth, exploration, and all the experiences that come with them. My hair journey is no different. It has been an amazingly fun ride with ups and downs, but what is most important, is that I’m able to learn my hair along the way.

Each of our hair is different (even within a hair-type!), so I think it’s completely okay that what works for someone else completely does not work for me, and vice versa.

So here’s what I learned definitely DOES NOT work for me. Enjoy 🙂

1. Pineapple method – a nighttime routine many naturals use to keep volume and definition of twist outs. You typically pull hair into a loose ponytail on top of your head, and in the morning, fluff it out.

Why not for me?: I don’t know what the technical term is or what the culprit is (lack of moisture, protein, etc.), but my hair stays in WHATEVER form I put it in (especially if in that style over night). So pulling my hair into a loose ponytail on top of my head just leads to wild hair in the morning that won’t lay downward (think Don King!). Maybe with more length this will work better for me???

What I do instead: I’ve resorted to just sleeping with a bonnet when I want to maintain a twist out. I pull my sides back (like Eddie Murphy in Vampire in Brooklyn, haha!), but I don’t secure it with a ponytail or anything. In the morning, fluffing works out much better for me.

2. Dry detangling – This label can be misleading. I am not referring to detangling without any type of product ( I definitely detangle with product), but detangling without any water is another story. In other words. I need water to detangle these tresses!

Why not for me?: My hair is tightly, tightly, tightly, coiled, and it catches on itself ALL OF THE TIME. Because it’s always tangling, not only do I need product to help the strands slide past each other, I need wet hair that is a little more elastic and can hold a little more weight. There are debates about whether your hair is stronger wet or dry, but I know my hair responds as if it is stronger when wet.

What I do instead: I only detangle on wet hair and under the water stream. It’s almost as if the water pressure helps to push my hair downward, keeping it from re-tangling (totally not scientific…I made that up!)

3. Wash and go – Just like it sounds, many naturals wash their hair, apply product and typically finish with minimal manipulation/styling. Some of the best wash and gos I’ve seen incorporate some type of finger-combing with a light, natural gel for best results. I tried it…once.

Why not for me?: This is one of the styles I dreamed about doing when I was transitioning. I tried it early on after becoming completely natural and…well, it was a hot mess. I tried the finger-combing method described above because that was recommended for 4c hair. 1. It took me an hour to do a small section in the back of my head because my hair is so thick. 2. It still just looked like an afro with very little to no definition. Nothing against afros of course. I love ’em, it’s just not the look I was going for then. I decided the effort was not worth, and moved on, sadly.

What I do instead: At the very least, I dry in twists. That’s as close to washing and going I’m going to get. I do love the idea of it though. It’s a hair fantasy for me 🙂 But I have learned that my hair loves me more when I keep it in stretched styles. This really helps my detangling sessions.

4. No-poo (shampoo): I actually really like this method in theory. I can definitely tell how shampoo strips my hair of its moisture. So I attempted a no-shampoo regimen for about a month. Yea, not a good look.

Why not for me?:I blame my scalp issues mainly. I have a scalp condition that requires my scalp be cleaned with a medicated shampoo as to not cause flare ups of scales, itching, and burning (sorry if TMI). This is probably exaggerated by my “6 days a week” work out schedule. All of that sweat can’t possibly help, right?

What I do instead: I’ve been sticking to my doctor recommended weekly washes with shampoo, and it seems to be keeping my scalp condition under control. I’m thinking about trying a “week 1, shampoo”, “week 2, cowash” routine. I used to do this while transitioning. We’ll see how that goes.

5. The Denman – I think this was the most talked about tool when I was transitioning. Everyone was detangling with the Denman. My girl from back home made it looks so easy, and her hair texture is pretty close to mine. So I tried it…kind of.

Why not for me?: I actually didn’t get far with the Denman. I tried detangling from the ends to the root and got about 4 strokes in before I couldn’t take it anymore. There were just so many bristles, so close together, raking through my hair and pulling my sensitive strands out. The sound alone made me cringe, haha. I caved and went back to my wide-toothed comb.

What I do instead: Some naturals manually tweak their Denman so there aren’t as many bristles. Completely makes sense. For me, I just need as few bristles/teeth as possible. Again, this is because of tightly coiled my hair is, and how it’s just so attracted to itself that it tangles every chance it gets. That’s why I stick with the wide-toothed comb. I’d do 100% finger detangling if I had the patience, but until then, I’m sticking by my comb.

That’s all I have! I look forward to the other experiences and lessons to learn throughout the future of my hair journey.

Winters in Chicago can be brutal, so I have to make sure my hair survives the dry, brittle cold and damaging winds. I honestly don’t change much of my regimen between winter and summer, so this regimen will likely be relevant year round.

Weekly Wash Days

Protein conditioner Pre-Poo for 30 minutes with hair in 8 twists

Aphogee 2 Minute Keratin Reconstructor

Method: LAZY ALERT!!! I don’t have a steamer and I don’t build in the time to sit under my hair dryer, so I do the old fashion “run a towel under hot water in a bowl for 5-10 minutes”, method haha. I then place it on top of my shower cap and secure it with another shower cap. It’s not perfect, but I need to be able to multi-task 🙂

Shampoo with hair in 8 twists

T-Gel Medicated Shampoo

KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp Moisturizing Shampoo

Scalp condition side note: I have to use stronger shampoos because of a scalp condition that I have called Seborrheic Dermatitis. It’s actually quite common. Rece, a fellow blogger, is experiencing similar frustrations. My dermatologist described it as my scalp/skin producing too much yeast and becoming irritated. It’s been called the “adult cradle cap”. Anywho, it means I have to wash regularly, and so I try to wash once a week (I should wash more frequently given that I workout 6 times per week). I will admit that washing weekly definitely dries my hair out, but I’ve tried alternating between a shampoo-wash and a conditioner-wash, but of course conditioner-washes don’t help my scalp. So to relieve the itching and flaking this condition causes, I’ve been using T-Gel Shampoo. I plan to go back to my beloved KeraCare Dry & Itchy Scalp shampoo this week (super excited!). My dermatologist says she typically recommends KeraCare for African Americans, in particular naturals, since it works to restore moisture. I will keep you posted on how it works out for me.

Method: I just plop it on, focusing on the ends, but being sure every strand is completely saturated. It really does give a tingling sensation and that feels like heaven to my scalp. I use the lazy method described above – run a towel under extremely hot water for 5-10 minutes, then place on top of my shower cap and secure it with a second shower cap. Because I do this for 60 minutes, I sometimes get a fresh towel after 30 minutes.

Detangling with conditioner in hair, separating hair into 16 twists

Shower comb

Method: I start with 8 twists but end up with 16. I take down one twist and start detangling one half of that twist. My hair is pretty thick and tightly coiled so as usual the smaller the sections, the more peaceful the detangling session :).

I use a mixture of finger-detangling and wide tooth comb detangling. I start with my fingers to get the major knots and kinks out. I then only use the comb under the stream of water. I start with the ends and only stroke my hair 3-4 in total (I try to use as few strokes as possible). I realize that I can run the comb through my hair as much as I want, but given my hair’s texture, it will continue to catch on itself. So I settle for just getting the major tangles out. This takes me about 45 minutes typically.

Air Drying

Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner

Hot 6 Oil

Shea Moisture Reconstructive Elixir

Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Method: I wrap my 16 twists in an old t-shirt to soak up the water for 10-15 minutes. I then take down each twist, apply my moisturizing and sealing products in the below order, and retwist:

Leave-in: Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner

Oil: Hot 6 Oil -or- Shea Moisture Reconstructive Elixir

Cream: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Can you tell I like Shea Moisture 🙂 I stick with them because I’ve found that my hair needs heavier products to stay moisturized.

For styling, I typically sleep in my 16 twists then do a quick protective style in the morning.

I’m afraid to say “that’s all”. It’s truly a day-long event (okay, maybe half a day), but so far it is a good compromise between my hair’s needs and my busy schedule!